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The Devil's Zoo
''The Devil's Zoo'' by Psychopasta Have you ever thought that there was something the zookeepers were hiding something from us all? Or have you ever found something to be off about the place? Even the animals that were there for the staring eyes of humanity? I didn't until I found out THE TRUTH about it all. I have worked as a zookeeper for almost six years to date. Like many zookeepers, in order to avoid interfering with the experiences of the guests, I did all my work at night after the gates were closed. After all, who wants to go to a zoo only to see a tiger get tranquilized and tested for disease? The zoo I worked in was very large and spacious, similar to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Ironically, the people would leave early in distress. Some people even went as far as to tell each other that the zoo was evil, made from Hell, things like that. Seeing as how I only heard this rumor from three out of fifteen people, I brushed it off as just some hysterical tale told by people who decided they simply didn’t want to go here, an excuse if you will. Most of the time during my shifts, I would walk to and from enclosures, observe the animal life there, and write down in my log book about any strange behavior I might find. It is during these times that I see, from behind the security of a chain link fence or glass window, the incredibly active and brutal lifestyles of many of the nocturnal creatures. Males paired together will often fight and growl at each other. Big cats, especially, tend to eye me hungrily, despite being surrounded by uneaten food that litters their pens at all times. I’ve never been scared by them, but as I walk by their pens, it is unsettling to notice dozens of pairs of eyes gleaming back at me through the darkness, despite how safe I know I am behind the impenetrable fences. They must know it too as they have never attempted to escape or attack me. During my free time, I made friends with the three night guards that were in charge of keeping out any teenagers dumb enough to try and sneak in after hours. We talked a lot about the zoo and popular rumors surrounding it. The place itself is old. Apparently, it was originally built to be a storage facility for circus animals in the 19th century. Combine that with the fact that it’s situated on the outskirts of a small town in rural Nevada, and it becomes easy to believe some of their more outlandish tales and theories. But by far the most interesting thing they told me was about how some of the animals would just disappear in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. This especially caught my attention because, not only had this phenomena been documented in the log books of previous night managers, but I myself had encountered this same issue within my first month of working there when a resident of the monkey cage had vanished between my first and second routine inspections of the night. After double checking, I had assumed that it had somehow gotten out, but when I brought the issue to head management in the morning, I was floored when they frankly told me not to worry about it. Unlike the night guards who thought that ghosts were involved, I had a feeling that zoo management had something to do with it. Nevertheless, since my employer didn’t seem to care, neither would I. As months passed, I noticed that more animals seemed to vanish almost systematically. But not even the disappearance of an elderly lion seemed to worry management at all. The lion was found. But was found on top of a bridge, with on-lookers getting out of their cars and took photos. God knows how the beast got there. Aside from rumors, the night guards introduced me to the facilities. I have a lot of good memories within the employe lounge and their “secret” lounge, which was just a cramped little room with a TV. They showed me every bathroom and maintenance building that I would need to use in order to perform my duties. Just when I thought I had a good grasp of where every building was and what they were each for, I noticed at the end of my shift one morning, as the first gleams of the sun illuminated the horizon, a distant building that could only be seen if you looked in just the right direction from a certain corner of the zoo. It was absent on every map we had and my boss would just brush me off if I ever asked him about it. The structure was only one story high and, upon closer inspection with some binoculars that one of the night guards lent me, it had no windows at all. There were no roads or paths that lead to it, and I had never seen anyone use it in any way. It was decent in size and I thought it was strange that a building like that would be inaccessible and nearly invisible to visitors and workers such as myself. Of course, the night guards had their theories, ranging from a power station to an animal breeding chamber. I, however, had remembered how some animals in the zoo had gone missing and it dawned on me that, of the instances I could remember specifically, the animals that had disappeared were always old aged, ugly looking, or otherwise unpopular with guests. I shared with the night guards my theory, about how management knew that particular animals were an eyesore, but they also knew how hard and costly it would be to get permission from the government to put them down or transfer them, not to mention the bad publicity. In order to keep things quiet, the unwanted animals were kidnaped at night and euthanized in the mysterious building where their bodies could be cremated and disposed of without law enforcement catching on. We all laughed at my idea, but I decided to stick to that theory if anyone were ever to ask, even though no one ever did. As months turned to years, more animals began to disappear, only to be discreetly and quickly replaced with younger ones. My theory didn’t seem so farfetched after all. All the while I was perfecting my nightly routine. After just two years, I had memorized every enclosure space, created a mental list of animal populations, and minimized the amount of time it took me to complete each task. Eventually, I had over an hour of free time before the end of each shift. At first, I spent the time with the night guards. All the while, we never stopped wondering about the mysterious building and the missing animals. Then, one night, my curiosity got the better of me. It compelled me to discover the truth, like an itch that had been building with each missing animal. As I arrived at the zebra pen for the early-night inspection, I found that one was missing. While I would usually just make a note in my report and forget about it, I decided to walk down the path surrounding the enclosure and do a quick inspection. When I reached the farthest corner of the pen, a strange movement caught my eye. I could see something in the far distance lumbering through the underbrush. Through the darkness, I could see that it was large, black, and definitely not a zebra. As I squinted, I could make out that it was dragging something behind it. I placed my clipboard aside, hopped the fence, and followed from a distance. The figure hadn’t noticed me, but I could see that it was hauling the body of one of the zebras behind it. After a short while, I realized that we were headed in the direction of the mysterious building that I had wondered so much about. This seemed to confirm my belief that old animals were taken and executed at night, but I had to know for sure. As we got closer to the building, I could hear the workers snapping at each other- things like: "WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE DAMN THING?!?" and "GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" A mumbled shout poured over whoever was in there, and replied with a louder "WE CAN'T JUST KILL THAT THING!" he talking stopped. I blinked for a second, and pressed myself closer on the door. Then, as God as my witness, I could hear a loud banging on what I could tell, was a metal door echoing throughout the room inside. I could hear something like the screaming of something, not a roar of a lion, not of a bear... But. It... It sounded, inhuman. I was scared half to death. I mean, what was I doing here!? There was another loud bang, and I could hear the workers stepping back saying, "Oh god no..." Just in time... a piercing wail was followed by a shout from the workers, and the loudest bang on the door echoed throughout the building. A loud manly scream echoed through the door, followed by more. They were in unison with the sound of cracking and tearing... which I now know was flesh and bone from the workers. I ran like a football player straight towards my car and sped down the road! A couple hours later, home and safe, that night, I walked out of my room to get some water before I went to bed -a habit of me trying to procrastinate so I didn't have to sleep. The next morning, I started watching the news. The reporter was talking about some kind of humanoid creature was coming out of the zoo and disappearing in the woods. So what happened to the monster, god only knows. But I will never, and I repeat, never work in a goddamn zoo for as long as I live. The workers were experimenting on a new species for a new exhibit. They were trying to create... MAN. Category:Animals Category:Original Category:Psychopasta Category:Beings Category:Places